I could easily repeat today, so pleasant has it been... In effect it is a rest day, with just a minor distance done on the bikes, essentially to shorten tomorrow’s ride to Garies from an unmanageable 80km to a doable 63km.
The road from Nuwerus ain’t flat, but on morning legs it was a pleasure to ride under a blue sky. It is very dry out there, but magnificent in its own way. Impossible to imagine it vibrant with colour under a carpet of in-season Namaqualand daisies. On the hillsides are “fairy circles”, large circular areas of dirt edged with bush and grass. There is some debate as to the cause; the one that makes most sense to me is termite activity. Whatever the case, this odd phenomenon gives rise to dragon and fairy myths - charming if inaccurate.
Charl and I, seconded by my parents, cycled parts of this road between Upington and Darling in December 2004, the year of the tsunami. We cycled from Garies to Nuwerus that year, bypassing Bitterfontein. Two things stand out in memory from that trip: encountering racism in the form of a guest house owner who assured us she used different bedding and crockery for her black guests; and how unpalatable the water was, potable, but brackish. There is a desalination plant just south of Bitterfontein, but we assume our then-hosts were not linked to it. Anyway, we are sticking to bottled to be on the safe side.
I am not sure what draws people to tiny towns like Nuwerus and Bitterfontein, where a simple nicety we take for granted in the big city, such as buying fresh fruit, is not possible. A common theme is that it is “rustig” (restful or peaceful). Certainly the locals are friendly…
Just below the N7, 100m along the road into Bitterfontein, is a fantastic “padstal” (road stall), recommended to us by Fey from Hardeveld Lodge. Here we sat under a tree and ate their speciality, “roosterkoek” (barbecued rolls), filled with “boerewors” (farmer’s sausage) and tomatoe and onion relish. The perfect lunch for the hungry cyclist.